DIY firms Homebase and B&Q suffer sales slump

The UK's two biggest DIY chains, B&Q and Homebase, have both reported a slide in sales this summer. Homebase reported a similar drop in quarterly sales under its new Australian owner. "George Salmon, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said:"It looks like Kingfisher isn't alone in having difficulties in the UK. "The group's flagship B&Q chain saw like-for-like sales fall 4.7%, which is similar to the 4.3% fall at Bunnings UK, the new owner of Homebase." As well as the Bunnings DIY chain, Wesfarmers also runs the supermarket chain Coles and the Kmart and Target chains in Australia. Bunnings UK, which bought Homebase for £340m last year, is changing the DIY retailer's discounts and rebranding more stores under the Bunnings name.